When I first started working at the Humane Society of Charlotte, I was brand new to the world of Animal Welfare. Under the guidance of our CEO Shelly Moore, I learned just how much our organization does not only for pets in our community, but for the people, too.
As some of you know, I now have two HSC alumni at home. My "heart dog", Milah, was adopted almost 3 years ago. She came to us anxious, timid, and standoffish to strangers. Through a lot of love and patience, and with the help of the Operations and Behavior teams here at HSC, she has blossomed into the goofy, patient, loyal dog I always knew she could be.
Theodore "Theo" Bean was my first "Foster Fail". If you're unfamiliar with the term, Foster Fails are when you plan to foster an animal for a brief period of time, but end up keeping them forever. Theo came to us with his mother and four siblings who were still nursing and only about 5 weeks old. HSC relies heavily on our amazing foster families to house kitten and puppy litters, and I volunteered to take them all for the weekend. I bonded quickly with a small grey striped kitten who climbed all over me as I did my yoga at night and loved to snuggle on my shoulder. I ended up adopting him- my first baby animal EVER- and named him Theo. He has been a bright shining light during some difficult times recently, and makes me laugh every single day with his antics. He is now over 5 months old and is turning from a tiny fluffy bean into a full fledged cat. He loves playing with his "sister" Alyssa, climbing anything he can reach, and riding in the car with me.
My pets are my family- I could not imagine a life without them in it, and I have the Humane Society of Charlotte to thank for their endless dedication to saving their lives and the lives of so many others. Pets hold a cherished space in our hearts because they are our loyal companions, and we can only hope to try to give them as much love as they show us every day.
Your donations help keep us saving and changing lives like Milah and Theo's every single day. Right at this very moment there are dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies waiting for their forever homes in our shelter, receiving high quality low-cost care at our clinic, out in foster homes with caring volunteers, or receiving food or other assistance from our community outreach teams. There is SO much that HSC does for these animals and their families, I hope you will consider donating to help us continue this amazing work!